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Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin Predicts GOP Keep House Majority

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 16: U.S. Senate Majority Whip Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) (C) pauses as he answers questions from the media after he met with fellow Senate Democrats on a deal on payroll tax cut that has been struck with the Senate Republicans December 16, 2011 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate Democrats and Republicans have reached to a deal to extend the payroll tax cut holiday for two months. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (CBS WASHINGTON) — Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin predicts that the Republicans will keep the House majority in November.

Durbin is the senior United States Senator from Illinois and the Senate Majority Whip, the second highest position in the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate.

“I think it’s likely we’ll see an outcome similar to what we have today,” Durbin told the Arlington Heights Daily Herald. He described a “Democratic majority in the Senate but not 60 votes, and a Republican majority in the House but less than it is today.”

Democratic leaders in Congress have been publicly optimistic about the party’s chances for winning back the majority from the GOP in November.

Durbin’s position contrasts with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s take. She said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Democrats have a “very excellent chance” at netting the 25 seats needed to win back control of the lower chamber.

Durbin has served as Senate Democratic Whip since 2005, and assumed his current title when the Democratic Party obtained a majority in 2007.